Art of felting



Patented Nov. 25, 1930 CHARLES ID. PARKS, OI DANBURY, GQNNECTICUCF ART or FELTING No Drawing. Application filed April 9, 1925, Serial No. 21,998. RenewedFebruaIy 14, 1930. v

This invention relates to the art of felting fur or the like and with regard to its more specific features to the art of hat bodies from fur. I

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a practical and effective art of felting v together fur fibers or the like to form a thoroughly practical and reliable fur fabric, and

' moreover an art of the above-mentioned nature which may be carried on in practice inexpensively, conveniently, and with or- I oughly consistent and reliableflresults.

other object of this invention is to provide a thoroughly practical art not only of treating fur fibers to give them felting properties, but also of felting the fur fibers together to achieve certain highly advantageous and practical results. Another object is toprovide an art of felting fur fibers having felting'properties and free from poisonous ingredients, such as components of mercury, for example, which art, particularly in the manufacture of felt hat bodies, will give to preparing felt completely feltedhat, in an efiicient and satisfactory manner, certain preservative properties highly desirable in this particular art.

A Other objects will be in part obvious or in part pointed out hereinafter. v

e The invention accordingly consists in the several steps and relation and order of each of the same to one or more of the others, all

; as will bevillu stratively described herein, and

the scope of the application of which will be "indicated in-the following claims. a

Inthemanufac ture of felt, for example asin themanufacture of felt hats, the fur fibersare 'first carroted ortreatedto give I a them feltin g properties, and this carroting I treatment has beenfor-manyiyears past, car

ricd on by the employment of a carroting material known as mercury nitrate and-prepared from nitric acid and mercury. Fur -gthus prepared is thus made to carry w1th-1t mercury compounds aside from necessitating, in the preliminarv treatment orecarroting of .T the fur,the handling of this poisonous ma-N g tendant upon-the use of fur carroted by the usual nitrate of .me rcury as hereinbe fore terial as well as theresultant mercury bear- "ing; 'fur,- with consequent 1I1]l1ll0l1S effect upon the health of the workmen. Such fur the fur undergoing felting action or the.

when subjected, as in the manufacture of hats, to the various forming and felting processes is sti'll impregnatedwith this poisonous mercuric compound andsubjects the workmen employed'in the course of the felting and like operations to mercury poisoning, this mercury compound being released in the form of poisonous fumes during the various felting and other processes, and in the course of which oftentimes there isinvolved the application of hot waterand steam.

In accordance with certain features of this invention, I eliminate the possibility of cansing mercury or like poisoning while at the same time achieving a. resultant felt of ex- 'cellent qualities, and embodying certain desirable advantages to be more fully hereinafter set forth. I accordin ly first treat the fur fibers, preferably whi e they are still upon the skin, with a solution comprising a mixture of a non-acid or hydroxide cleansing agent and an oxidizing agent. The preferred solution comprises'preferably a mixture of sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide, and this mixture may be conveniently obtained by dissolving sodium peroxide in water and applying the resultant solution, preferably at a strength .within the approximate limits of 1 Baumand 10 Baum, as

by brushing thesolution into the fur on the skin. After drying, the fur may be removed from the skin, the treatment above described having-had the wax or gummy substance upon the fibers either removed or'made soluble and absorbent in water so that it may be washed out. The fur will thus have conveyed to it felting properties, inasmuch as the overlying scales or barbs of the individualhair fibers will thus be either entirely freed from the natural wax or gummy substance thereon, 'or :the latter placedin such condition that it may readilybe dissolved or washed: out to free I these scales or barb'sand to perniit'the lattertoassist in interlocking the fur fibers one with another to, form a. clep'e ndable and secure felt. Moreover, alfur thusprepared isfree from the defects, and disadvantages atpointed out.

The fur carroted or treated as just above described, may then be subjected to any of the usual forming and felting processes, and will be found to produce a felt which meets all of the exacting requirements such as are characteristic of the manufacture of felt hats. Such a fur will have either an alkaline or a neutral reaction, but will be found generally to have a tendency toward an alkaline reaction, inasmuch as the product, carried by the fur fibers and resulting from the carroting treatment above described, is one which is the result of the reaction with the natural wax on the fur fibers but inasmuch as, in the course of the manufacture of hats, for example, these steps are not in the usual course carried on in prompt succession, the usual conditions that have to be met in the course of the manufacture of hat bodies require the lapse of sometimes considerable periods of time between successive steps. For example, after the hat body has been formed into a so-called bat,

generally of conical shape, it is subjected to a treatment known as hardening, wherein the hat body is kneaded manually but gentlytogether with frequent immersions in hot water; this treatment initiates the interlocking or interfelting action of the individual fur fibers, and conveys to the bator hat body an initial and necessary integrity of structure, or a required mechanical strength to permit the next succeeding step thereon to be carried out. It is not unusual, to carry out further the above-assumed illustration,

' to have a series of hardened hat bodies await their turn,-for considerable periods of time, oftentimes a number of days,ito be subjected to the next step, such as the operation ably above room temperature, and also in a' Inasmuch as the of sizing. I

-S uhhardened hat bodies will thus be stacked up or temporarily stored, and it is not infrequent that the operation-of hardening leaves them at a temperature considermoisture-bearing state. product of the non-mercury carroting solution with thenatural wax upon-the fur 'fibers is only to a slight extent washed out in' these reliminary felting operations, the'hardened Bats, in view of the tendency of-this roduct to react alkaline, and probably also ecause of the oxidizing agent which forms a component of the carroting solution, as well as in view of the conditions of temperature and moisture as above "noted, tend to have established therein conditions which, if suflicient time is allowed to elapse, are conducive to cause a so-called souring of the bats or hat bodies; this souring' is due to the fact that the above-mentioned conditions appear to initiate an action analogous to fermentation or decomposition, to the action of which the oxidizing component probably is contributory, and this souring may take place at varied degrees depending upon the length of time that the hat bodies are caused to await their turn to be subjected to the next succeeding ste or depending upon the initial or subsequent y evolved conditions of temperature and moisture To make possible, upon the part of the manufacture of felt or felt hats, the introduction of as large intervals of time between successive steps in the working up of the fur into a felt as may be desired or as may be imposed, is one of the dominant aims of this invention.

I accordingly, after carroting the fur fibers as hereinbefore described, form the latter into a sheet-like layer, as, for example, by blowing the fur onto a perforated form generally in the shape of a cone, and upon which the fur fibers are evenly and uniformly blown. The sheet of fur fibers thus formed is thereupon envelopedbyasuitable cloth and the resultant sheet of fur, hereinbefore termed a bat or hat body where it is given a. shape generally conical, is thereupontreated, as by spraying or dipping, with an aqueous acidic solution. Where the bat is thus treated as by dipping, the vessel into which the bat is dipped may contain a solution formed by adding approximately sixteen ounces of acid per every three hundred gallons of water in the dipping vessel. Any suitable acid may be utilized, but I prefer to use formic acid, though I have achieved good results by llSllllg acetic acid, and also by using sulphuric ac' for example. The particular choice of acid to be used' in this step of my process, as well as in the subsequent ones hereinafter described ma depend upon the type or character of ur bers utilized, upon t e particular composition and proportion of the mixture of hydroxide and oxidizing agent utilized to give the fur felting properties, or upon the requirements imposed upon the hat body or felt by subsequent operations, such as the dyeing operation.

. This acidic aqueous solution, when applied to the bat reacts with-the product borne by the fur fibersto neutralize any preponderance of alkali or OH ions which may. result from the interaction of this product with the water-of the solution. Inasmuchas the treat ment of the bats 'may be carried on most conveniently by dipping gor spraying, for

- ationsI carry on solution. proceeds. 10

-wet down and then ardened; these oper maintaining the aqueous The bat or'hat bod is then ready to be solution used in these steps acidic and the degree of acidity of the solution may be in the neighborhood of from two to four ounces of acid for every fifteen gallons of water.

. And after the bat has been hardened, the

sizing or shrinking thereof and hence the completion of the tightening of the interlooking or interfelting action of the fur fibers brought about may be proceeded within the usual manner, though the hot water used, is, as during the hardening operation,

1 maintained acidic to about the same extent.

During these latter steps, in the. course of which the mechanical interlocking or interfelting of the fibers is begun and completed,

the product carried by the fur fibers and re sulting from the carroting treatment, is grad- 'ually' washed out and whatever tendencyv thereof to react alkaline is, as these several A steps are proceeded with, gradually and progressively counteracted until after the sizing and shrinking has been completed the tightly interlockedand felted fur reacts neutral and is then in condition to be further treated and of time. At the completion of each of these felting steps, thefelt will be free from such conditions as tend to brin about a souring of the fabric, as hereinbefore described, andthe highly desirable and advantageous features as result from the elimination from.

the fur and resultant feltof poisonous or mercuric compounds may be effectively achieved without necessitating the prompt succession of one step by another. It will thus be seen that there has been provided in this invention an art of-felting both convenientl and inexpensively. It will furthermore e seen that there has been provided in this invention an art in which the several objects hereinbefo-re noted, as well as .many thoroughly practical advantages, are successfully achieved.

As the art herein described might be varied -in various parts all without departing from hereinbefore' described the scope of the invention, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

-I claim as my invention c 1. The herein described art of felting which consists in treating fur or the like with an alkaline solution of an oxidizing agent adapted to attack the wax on the fibers thereof, drying the fur, forming a batout of. the.

fur, treating the resultant bat with an acidic aqueous solution, and felting the fibers of f the bat together while applying thereto an acidic aqueous solution. i

2. The hereln described art of feltlng which consists in forming a fabricout of fur or the like having upon the fiber-s thereof a product resulting from the reaction with v the natural wax thereon of an aqeuous solution of an oxidizing agent and a cleansing agent, and treating the fabric with] an acidic aqueous solution.

3. The herein describedart of felting which consists in forming a fabric out of fur or the like having upon the fibers thereof a product resulting from the reaction with the natural wax thereon of an aqueous solution of an oxidizing agent and a cleansing agent.

and treating the fabric with Water acidifiedwith formic acid.

4. The herein described art of felting whichconsists in forming a fabric outof fur orthe like having upon'the fibers thereof a product resulting from the reaction with the natural wax thereon'of an aqueous solution of an oxidizing agent and a cleansing agent, and treating the fabric withwater acidified with acid in the proportion substantially .of one pound of acid to three hundred gallons of water.

5. The herein described which consists in forming a fabric out of fur or the like having upon the fibers thereof a product resulting from the reaction with the natural wax thereon of an aqueous solution of an oxidizin agent and a hydroxide,

felting-the fibers of the fabric together, and

or the like having, upon the fibers thereof a 1 product resulting from the reaction with the I natural wax thereon of an aqueous solution of fur or the likev in which many practical" and useful} advantages are achieved and which art may be carried outin practice natural wax thereon of an aqueous solution of anoxidizing agent and a hydroxide, treating the resultant fabric with an acidic aqueous solution, felting the fibers of the fabric tnart of felting I art of felting gether, and utilizing during the felting operation an acidic aqueous solution.

8. The herein described art of felting which consists in forming a fabric out of fur or the like having upon the fibers thereof a product resulting from the reaction with the natural wax thereon of an aqueous solution of a hydrogen peroxide and a hydroxide, and treating the resultant fabric with an acidic aqueous solution.

9. The herein described art of felting which consists in forming a fabric out of fur or the like having upon the fibers thereof a product resulting from the reaction with the natural war; thereon of an aqueous solution of a hydrogen peroxide and a hydroxide,

felting the fibers of the resultant fabric together, and utilizing during the felting operation an acidic aqueous solution.

10. The herein described art of felting which consists in forming a fabric out of fur or the like having upon the fibers thereof a product resulting from the reaction with the natural Wax thereon of an aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide and sodium hydroxide, and treating the resultant fabric with a solution having an acid reaction.

11. The herein described art of felting which consists in first treating the fur or the like with a material adapted to give the fibers thereof felting properties, forming a fabric out of the fibers, felting the fibers of the fabric together, and treating the fibers of the fabric with a solution adapted to counteract fermentation.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification this 4th day of April, 1925.

- CHARLES D. PARKSo 

